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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24288100">Electricity in the Mall</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewJohnston/pseuds/AndrewJohnston'>AndrewJohnston</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Angel in the Forest (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Dorks in Love, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First Dates, Fluff, Gen, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Same-Sex Marriage, Shopping Malls, pure fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:40:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24288100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewJohnston/pseuds/AndrewJohnston</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Most of the main cast go out to experience what a Quadruple Date feels like - even if most of them are not technically on a date. And what better place to go than the local Plaza that has everything; from restaurants, saunas, shops to even a cinema? </p><p>Jasper could finally bring his beloved fox to the date he deserves, Debora may have left some details out when he invited Oliver, Maurice and Jack are married yet they still came and Montimer's family? Well, they may be in the center of all.<br/>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/>Or a 10 thousand word two-shot, featuring all your favorite ships and the ones that are not-yet cannon/hinted, packaged in a glass box with the shape of a whale.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Debora/Oliver, Larry/Montimer, Maurice/Jack, Vincent/Jasper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Light Bulbs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/622741">Angel in the Forest</a> by Yinller.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Imagine a metropolis with skyscrapers as tall as the clouds. While they <em>are</em> impressive at first glance, after some time…</p><p>They get pretty boring, right?</p><p>They don’t call it the ’concrete jungle’ for nothing; even the richer buildings are just rich enough to build over the massive amounts of cement and gravel that mix into this grey smudge that concrete was. It was boring to look at, it had an awful taste, no smell, felt insignificant on the skin and just the most obnoxious thing to listen to when it broke and crumbled.</p><p>Yuck.</p><p>Now imagine a spot among these boring giants, where a happy little <em>whale</em> lived. Her skin reflected the sky, and she sang just the most beautiful notes the whole day. She was quite an excellent chef too, and the food she made was always tasty and filling, the variety mindboggling. And to top it all off - she always had this fresh fragrance revolving around her, thanks to the dewy grass that grew in her cool shadow.</p><p>Now <em>she </em>was a spectacle – and her name was Bolaton Plaza.</p><p>Yes, the happy whale was a building too; an imposing shard of glass, stationed right in the geometrical middle of the city. It resembled the shape of a resting whale, one side starting with the blunt nose of the sea creature, the other ending in a curled up tail with two symmetric fins. Glass covered the structure’s entire surface, and the clear blue sky reflected perfectly on the mirror-like windows that made up each tile of the Plaza’s outside.</p><p>So calling it ’happy little’ might have been a stretch. The sheer size of the plaza could actually eat two whole football stadiums and then ask for a second serving. The ’dewy grass’ around the structure’s feet was nothing but verdant patches of parks and promenades, free to access for anyone, <em>not</em> just the customers of the Plaza. Not a single parking lot in sight – it was modern enough to have them in the underground levels.</p><p>But as what many inspirational quotes would say – what matters is what’s on the <em>inside</em>.</p><p>And inside was Love.</p>
<hr/><p>“Wowie.”</p><p>A breathtakingly spacious aula greeted you upon stepping through the entrance at the bottom of the whale’s nose. ’Blue’ was the first word that came to mind and then later corrected itself to ’Platinum’ - both the tiles of the floor and the walls dazzled and sparkled in the sun’s warm rays like millennia old crystals in a cave. The wildlife was just as present here as on the outside, with those moist jungle leaves covering the edges of the hexagonal aula. Amidst them, purple flowers buds coyly peeked out of the green mass, their petals loading the platinum hall with a fresh scent.</p><p>In the middle of their embrace was this monstrous fountain, where water sprouted high into the air.</p><p>“I honestly thought we’ll be the last ones here. What with your scuffle with the park overseer guy…” came the smooth voice of the person hopping through the doors of the Plaza. He was your everyday red fox with a rusty pelt, a short-sleeved polo on his lithe form, and a jumper hanging knit-together from his waist, all three blindingly <em>orange</em>, “And see? I didn’t kid when I said the fountain would be easy to find. Look at the size of this thing!”</p><p>“Oh, my golly…”</p><p>His companion, a smaller-than-average wolf, was just as enchanted as his partner, if not more. He had been gawking ever since the shape of a whale appeared on his police cruiser’s windshield, not quite believing what he saw, and the inside scenery did everything <em>but</em> help snap back his hanging jaw. He took a deep breath through the nose – the flowers’ calming smell could not soothe his worries, and his broad shoulders dropped with disappointment.</p><p>When he and the fox neared the benches around the fountain, he gripped their already tightly connected hands.</p><p> “<em>Ah yes</em>, to be a first timer in Bolaton…” the vulpine smirked a foxy smile, his hips and tail swaying to the mall music, “I remember <em>my</em> first time here, let me tell you. Didn’t even think of leaving ’till the guards told me it was closing time, and even <em>then</em> I was trying to sneak one more hour in, hehe.”</p><p>But the wolf didn’t laugh with him. Instead, a pitiful whimper escaped his throat and his fluffy went tail lifeless and limp behind him. Noticing this, it wiped the smirk off the fox’s muzzle in an instant; that frightened look was more than just worrying, so the fox flipped his sunglasses to the top of his head and thought of something to do.</p><p>Straight-up asking about it? Nah, wouldn’t work. Way too straightforward.</p><p>Distracting? Fruitless, his lupine partner was already way too deep in the stupor.</p><p>
  <em>Then how about… Yes. That should do the trick.</em>
</p><p>Right when they took their seats on a bench, the wolf found his hand empty. He snapped his eyes to the other in mild panic, just to see the fox lie down on the smooth surface, his head – with the sunglasses on top - resting on the wolf’s lap. Half-lid eyes looked up at him smugly after his sneaky partner got comfortable, and for a second, the word ’beautiful’ made itself known in the wolf’s head.</p><p>“What’s your name, handsome stranger?” the fox asked, raising a hand to scratch the underside of his partner’s jaw.</p><p>Said ’stranger’ blinked down at him, confused for a moment. “J-Jasper. But you-”</p><p>“<em>Jasper you say</em>… Jas-per, Jas and per, per and Jas - I love it! Has a soft ring to it, don’t ya think?”</p><p>The other’s ears perked up at the compliment, and the beginnings of a smile found its way to his muzzle.</p><p>“I guess… but… it could never be as soft as yours, <em>Vincent,</em>” Jasper admitted with stars in his eyes. He gazed down at his love, his amor, his heart’s chosen, who smiled back with the same amount of adoration, cute fangs peeking under his lip. The Plaza was all but forgotten.</p><p>…</p><p>“You guys are so hardcore.”</p><p>A feminine voice broke the moment. The two canines jumped, turning to see Debora, a wide-hipped squirrel, leaning on the backrest of their bench. How and, most importantly, <em>when</em> she got there was a complete mystery, but for this squirrel, they had already learned not to ask; she could be was as ghost-footed as an owl amidst the snowy forest.</p><p>Her current wide-eyed look spoke magnitudes of her astonishment.</p><p>“Oh, come on, Debs. Let Romeo and Romeo have their little fun - it’s their official first date in the end,” they heard a male voice not far away, and a mustard yellow bat’s face emerged from behind her shoulder. A loose button-up shirt hid his lanky shape casually, with all the buttons undone, and his plain white undershirt was open for all to see. One would have thought it as indecent, but when 30 degrees Celsius scorched the outside and wearing more than one layer of clothing was like <em>begging</em> for a heat stroke – none cared as long as you had something on.   </p><p>“I know all about having a ’little fun’, thank you very much,” Debora shrugged, casually inspecting her nails, “But… a’ight, I guess, just don’t get overly mushy. I came here to have a fun time too, <em>not</em> to have my stomach emptied from how sweet you two are.”</p><p>Vincent’s laugh overpowered the music of the aula, the light and child-like sound easily cutting through the synthesizer of the song played. “No promises!” he exclaimed, snuggling into Jasper’s stomach. He purred when the gentle wolf’s hands started drawing circles on the fur on his head.</p><p>“<em>Ugh</em>. Way too hardcore.”</p><p>Meanwhile, the mustard bat sneaked an arm around her waist. “They could certainly be worse.”</p><p>“Yeah? How?”</p><p>“Oh, I dunno… they could be nineteen and already pretty much settled do-”</p><p>“<em>I’m right here, Oliver!</em>”</p><p>The voice was a little meek, but strong enough to reach their ears. The four of them turned to the entrance where two bats - one light yellow, the other dark blue - and a common mouse approached them. The latter waved at them casually, while the yellow bat had the expression of someone who was thoroughly entertained.</p><p>The blue one just glared.</p><p>“I know you did,” Oliver challenged bravely, “And you know I love you with all my heart, lil’ bro. Both you and your unorthodox life decisions.”</p><p>Montimer’s eyes almost rolled out of their sockets. His brother had gotten <em>so</em> cocky ever since he began his studies in law, and it did not lessen after becoming a lawyer - worse, now he rivaled Vincent at his usual.</p><p>A <em>horrifying</em> image in at itself.</p><p>Out of the blue, he felt someone hook their arms together and drag him close. An unfamiliar weight appeared on Montimer’s shoulder, and upon a quick glance, he discovered that it was anything but; Larry’s head rested on his shoulder. Their eyes met, and when those cute dimples appeared on the sides of the mouse’s content smile, he knew;</p><p>He couldn’t care less what anyone else thought. Not while he had Larry by his side.   </p><p>“Didn’t you guys bring Richie and Ronnie?” Vincent asked, propping himself up with an arm, “I thought you guys wanted to watch that new movie with the kids?”</p><p>“We do,” Larry sighed, nodding to the yellow bat next to him, “Jack, would you be so kind?”</p><p>With a quick thumbs-up, Jack took out his phone from his jean pocket and unlocked the screen. One might have thought he was about to text or make a call, but no; he just kept looking at the displayed time on the illuminated screen. Then he raised his left hand, palm open, which prompted a round of confused blinking and raised eyebrows; nobody knew what was happening. Or at least, not until the bat began folding his fingers one by one.</p><p>Then it dawned on them - Jack was counting back from five.</p><p>When his thumb folded too, the double doors of the entrance blew open. Three blurs rushed into the aula, their giggles and cackles echoing through the wide space, and <em>everyone </em>– even the bystanders and customers they didn’t know – turned their heads to the spectacle. The blurs were beelining towards the bench where Jasper and Vincent were, and the fox jumped up into the protective arms of the wolf who braced himself for the impact.</p><p>Fortunately, the blurs took a right turn and circled around the bench.</p><p><em>Unfortunately, </em>Oliver found himself spinning on his feet when they knocked into him on accident. He flailed his arms to try regaining his balance, knowing it was a lost cause – but then Debora’s steadfast hands steadied him in the last moment.</p><p>“T-thanks, babe.”</p><p>The squirrel bumped shoulders with him. “Anytime, Hunter.”</p><p>Montimer would have chuckled at the visible blush coloring his brother’s face, had it not been for the fact that he was busy tracking the blurs, making sure they didn’t fall into the fountain or something.</p><p>Before they could crash into a group of unsuspecting strangers, however, the third blur finally caught the first two. Maurice turned out to be the biggest one, a bat with dazzling green fur, a bandana hanging loose from his neck and a smile that split his muzzle to two. He held two cackling bundles of joy to his chest, who they still tried with all their might to get out of the adult’s hold.</p><p>“Gotcha, you little rascals! You did valiantly, but it was foolish of you to even <em>think</em> you can outrun the great monster, <em>me!</em>”</p><p>Jack chuckled at Maurice’s triumphant monologue. “Yes, that is your husband Jackie. No, that’s not mirage at all,” he whispered under his breath as he approached the three, “Honey? Any reason you are bullying the kids?”</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em>,” the green bat pouted, “I just love playing with them and they love it too! Guess what, I’m the scary monster of the bog and they are treasure hunters who stole my riches - but I caught them! Yes, I did! And now I can do whatever I want with them. What do you think? Tickling sounds like a great punishment enough, no?”</p><p>“It… certainly does. Just be quick before they find a way to escape you,” the yellow bat replied, winking down at the two kids and showing his fangs. Ronnie and Richie both realized his point and didn’t hesitate biting into Maurice’s exposed forearms.</p><p>“<em>Youch! </em>Hey!”</p><p>Once free, they immediately turned tail and left him in the dust. Jack took the chance to hold his husband’s bitten forearm and lent a kiss on it. He made sure to grab the limb by the shining onyx ring on Maurice’s finger, reminding the other who he belonged to, and the grumpy frown melted off Maurice’s face like butter from a hot knife. He even giggled a little, and the sting of his newfound gash was no more.</p><p>Meanwhile, the kids ran up to their parents; whilst Ronnie jumped into Montimer’s awaiting wings, Richie decided on crawling under Larry’s shirt. He used his tiny claws to scale the mouse’s height, and when he reached the collar of the fabric, he stuck his little head out.</p><p>Powerless to do anything about this new predicament, Larry simply laid his chin between the batling’s pointy ears. “There there, darling, it’s okay. The monster is no more…” he whispered soothingly. Richie nuzzled into his father’s neck crevice at the quiet words and closed his small eyes, letting a nap invade him. The sight was beyond adorable, and Debora’s subtle ’aww’, Oliver’s fist in his own jaw and Jasper’s starry eyes were all overshadowed by Vincent’s unmanly squeal at the sight.</p><p> “So is everyone here?”</p><p>Larry’s raised voice gathered the attention of the group. He ignored some pointed looks from the bystanders around the sprouting fountain, and continued, “Looks to be. Thank you so much for accepting this invitation to this ’Quadruple’ date - even if most of us are not technically <em>on</em> a date and we will go on our merry ways soon.”</p><p>“<em>Boo hoo</em> <em>dude</em>. Your tendency to get technical with us has never been cuter,” Debora spoke up, endlessly smug when Larry gave her a withering glare.</p><p>“Yeah yeah I’m adorable yada yada - laugh it up while you can,” he huffed, taking out his phone, “Whatever. So as I said, we will be going separate now. But just in case something happens while we are here and we need to find the others, we should all share where we plan to be.”</p><p>“H&amp;M or J.Crew!” Debora cut in once again, “My girlfriends begged me to show them Oliver for <em>months</em> now.”</p><p>“Wait, those are not bars. Didn’t you say we’ll be meeting them in a bar?” her boyfriend asked, looking much less confident in the day than before.</p><p>The squirrel smirked and draped her body over his shoulder, purposefully invading the bat’s personal space. “<em>Yeeeah</em>, but the bars don’t open ’til 7, so you might as well help us girls pick out an outfit or two. You don’t mind, do you?”</p><p>Even the blind could see how pale Oliver became. “N-no hon. I’m sure it will be… a great time…”</p><p>“I knew you would see it my way!” suddenly, Debora took hold of his arm and began dragging poor bat towards the wide stairs behind the fountain. Oliver’s quiet pleads for help were answered by a ’that’s karma for you’ kinda smile from Montimer and a collective giggle from Maurice and Vincent, as she dragged him away for good.</p><p>“Well… That takes care of that,” Larry spoke up, typing in the newfound info, “Maurice? Jack?”</p><p>The green bat piped up at the chance to talk. “Okay, so<em>.</em> Me and Jackie are having a date now - I know it sounds weird that we are having one <em>at all</em>, when we had just married a week ago – I loved the reception by the way, did you guys like it? I thought the band was phenomenal-”</p><p>“The point, Darling.”</p><p>“Oh! Hehe, sorry guys. So anyway, we thought we could have something like a ’last date’ before our honeymoon, you know? ’Cause after that, me and Jack will move together and will practically have a date every day - which is dreamy! I cannot wait ’till I can make waffles and bring it to him as a kind of breakfast-at-bed, but I will miss the anticipation before our dates.”</p><p>A pair of arms circled around Maurice’s stomach, bringing the bat close to another’s body. Jack laid his head on his husband’s shoulder and began gently rocking them to the mall’s slow music.</p><p>Larry smiled at the two dorks before him. “And where will this ’last date’ be?”</p><p>“We have a reservation at the mall’s sauna,” Jack decided to answer this time, as Maurice was too immersed in the slow dancing to answer, “It will be just him and me. And some cups of wine.”</p><p>“Oh that sounds so romantic,” Vincent was misty-eyed, his paws clutching the part of his shirt right above his heart. The quiet wolf whose lap he occupied hugged him closer, nuzzling into the fox’s throat.</p><p>Ronnie raised his head within the arms of Montimer. “What’s wine?” she asked, and his parents shared a wide-eyed glance.</p><p>“It’s… a kind of drink adults like,” Larry blurted out, to which the little mouse frowned.</p><p>“Is it like whiskey? Because if it is, it must taste horrible too.”</p><p>The crackles of both her fathers’ blood freezing over was like thunder and lightning in the courtyard.</p><p>
  <em>…too?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Too.</em>
</p><p>“Sweetheart… how do you know how whiskey tastes like?” Montimer could barely spit out the words as he raised Ronnie to meet his eyes.</p><p>The little girl shrugged. “Grandad let me have a sip.”</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>“Ohohoho! Mardequeo sounds like he’s in <em>trouble</em>!”</p><p>“That’s a heavy understatement, hon.”</p><p>Only the love of Christ almighty held together the phone in Larry’s hands, as the force he was holding the device could bend literal iron. “I… We… are going to have a talk with Mr. Marais later,” the words barely escaped the mouse’s grit teeth, and the fury radiating from his very existence made some bystanders look over to them, “Right, <em>Monti?</em>”</p><p>The bat looked relaxed on the other hand, his face unreadable. One might have thought he did not care, until they heard his emotionless, cold words;</p><p>“Dibs on breaking down his door.”</p><p>Larry’s feral grin was all teeth and no mercy.</p><p>“You got yourself a deal,” he said, then forced his eyes back to the poor phone, “Alright, back to topic. We talked about last daters, but what about the first timers?”</p><p>Vincent’s tail wagged out of control, hugging the quiet Jasper close. “Me and Wolfie have a reservation at the Corso.”</p><p>Jack’s and Maurice’s pointed ears perked up. “Corso? That one seafood restaurant at the back of the Plaza?”</p><p>“Hell-to-the-yes.”</p><p>“That’s a good one,” Maurice said, turning to look into Jack’s eyes, “Remember our third date, hon? I made you try those octopus legs.”</p><p>The yellow bat shuddered and hugged his husband closer. “I beg you to stop reminding me.”</p><p>Meanwhile, the still fuming Larry finished typing up the info. His quick fingers were pressing the buttons on the touchscreen with practiced vigor, only the occasional fat-fingering standing between him and perfection. It also didn’t help that Richie was quietly dozing right under his chin, making it physically impossible to look down – but hey, he made do. Right as he was pressing down the send button and listening to his friends’ phones buzzing with the message, he felt Montimer’s shoulder rub with his own, and the sudden sensation of wet lips on his cheek made him turn to the blue bat.</p><p>“Now what was that for?” he asked, confused.</p><p>“You just looked cute with Richie. You should hold him like this more often.”</p><p>Larry couldn’t help a grin. “I have a feeling he would bite me, but… I will take it into consideration – Anyway! So that means every floor will have a pair of us there. I have sent all info to the group chat, so Debs and Oli will know what’s up too,” he pocketed his phone and scratched Richie’s chin to wake him up, “Have fun, guys! And don’t forget our meet up at the airport the day after tomorrow. We must see Jack and Maurice leave for their honeymoon.”</p><p>“Alrighty!”</p><p>“Good bye guys.”</p><p>“Tell me about the movie later!”</p><p>“Will do!” Larry shouted after the retreating form of his friends, “Well. I guess we should head up too, no?”</p><p>“Probably. Is Richie awake?”</p><p>The mouse glanced down at the bundle of fur under his chin; the little guy’s head was observing the aula, pointy ears twitching in attentiveness. “Looks like it. Ronnie?”</p><p>“Heh, I didn’t even sleep,” she said it with the utmost pride.</p><p>“Aww. Someone is a big girl now, huh? Hey Monti, I don’t think big girls need to be held anymore, do they?”</p><p>Smirks were rare on the bat’s face, but they were possible. “I agree.”</p><p>“No! No no no no no <em>NO!</em>” amidst her panic, she crawled up Montimer’s arm and swung her legs over his shoulders, effectively making the bat give her a piggyback ride, “I’m good.”</p><p>“If you say so. Hold on to my ears but don’t grip them too much, okay?” when the soft sensation of tiny hands encircled his pointy appendages, Montimer smiled.</p><p>He interlocked his pinky with Larry’s own, and with that, they began making their long trek to the fourth floor’s cinema. In their wake, the purple flower buds stretched out a little more, the moisture on the jungle leaves raced each other to the edge, while the fountain began sprinkling water to the rhythm of the subtle, but energetic mall music echoing between the four walls.</p><p>And the platinum walls smiled.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Generator</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Jasper and Vincent – Ground Floor – The Corso Restaurant - You can buy a hotel from that!</strong>
</p>
<p>The plates had been empty for a while.</p>
<p>Only crumbs from the garlic bread and the sauce’s crimson smudges were scattered on the ceramics, but the animals behind them didn’t care. They didn’t care about a lot of things, actually; not about their finished meals, not about the other patrons and their whispers, and certainly not about that one lamp above them which rapidly flickered on and off. They just enjoyed their merry chatter about sweet nothings, getting lost in each other's naked eyes…</p>
<p>…Probably why the waiter looked like someone spat into his morning drink.</p>
<p>“May I take your plates, <em>sirs</em>?”</p>
<p>Jasper scowled; he was just about to ask that burning question on his mind when the greying raccoon rudely interrupted them. The urge to tell the guy off was big, but his lover beat him to it.</p>
<p>“Actually, it would be great if we could stay here for a little more. Unless it’s urgent?” the fox’s politeness was an act, but you wouldn’t know it – Vincent used <em>just</em> the right amount of sweetness to season his tone.</p>
<p>It had an impact. “Five minutes, <em>nothing more</em>. I have others to serve too, y’know,” and with a scoff, the waiter stomped away.</p>
<p>The two canines shared a look.</p>
<p>“<em>Such a character…</em>” the fox drawled, and like if nothing had happened, he refocused on his wolf, “Anyway, what did you want to say?”</p>
<p>“…Just wanted to ask how you got that C on your test. I mean, if all your answers were wrong, I fail to see how you could salvage that.”</p>
<p>Vincent laughed, motioning towards the wolf with his empty fork. “<em>Ah</em>, that. Well, it wasn’t that hard if I’m honest. Called up a friend of mine who was well-versed in the art of webpages, asked him to make a medical one that looked legit, filled it with info that was related the test’s topic - but we made sure to include little tidbits that proved <em>some</em> of my answers were right. The teacher bit the bait hard and the rest, is history.”</p>
<p>Jasper bit his lip. “But weren’t you afraid he would look it up later and find out you hustled him? I mean, if I were a teacher, and it turned out that I was missing some facts of the thing I’m teaching, I’d make sure to look it up,” the wolf was actually worried for him.</p>
<p> The one who made his heart beat was a cute lil’ empath, and Vincent <em>lived for it</em>.</p>
<p>“I would have been, had I not known it was exactly the due time to finalize the grades. I complained at the very last day, like an <em>hour</em> before the finalization, so even if he did find it out, there was <em>nothing</em> he could have done by then.”</p>
<p>“Amazing. Just simply- and weren’t you scared he would take revenge next year?”</p>
<p>A puff of air escaped the fox’s nose. “<em>If </em>he was my teacher the next year. But since he wasn’t…” and then Vincent did a grand gesture of his hand, letting the fork drop to the plate with a loud clang.</p>
<p>“Wow…” Jasper whispered in awe, leaning back in his chair, “You really did think of everything, huh?”</p>
<p>“Comes with being sly, I guess. You know, most stereotypes about foxes are just blatant lies, but I can vouch for the one about us being sly. <em>That</em> one is definitely true.”</p>
<p>The wolf looked down at his plate. “I wish I could be a fox sometimes and… do cool hustles like that.”</p>
<p>Vincent felt personally attacked. “Okay, first– <em>no</em>, stay yourself. There are plenty of perks for being a wolf and you know it,” he sent a pointed look at Jasper’s way, daring him to disagree, “And true, you may never be a fox, but you can <em>think</em> like one. The secret is in covering your flanks - a hustle cannot work if even one portion of it is based on dumb luck. Think of everything, and you <em>will</em> be in control the whole time.”</p>
<p>His partner frowned, looking down on his plate. Would it be really that easy? Is it even easy at all? Who knew how many things did Vincent think about before his scheme and just did not tell Jasper because he hadn’t asked?</p>
<p>“<em>Khm.</em>”</p>
<p>Great. The waiter was back.</p>
<p>“Here is your receipt. Thank you for dining at the Corso and I hope our service was satisfactory,” the words came out of his mouth hole were monotone, like a robot programmed to it. He dropped the bill onto the table while both canines begrudgingly took out their wallets, deciding to split the cost. With the food paid now, Vincent and Jasper readied themselves to stand up and leave, already thinking about what they would be doing next. But once again, the old raccoon stopped them.</p>
<p>“And the tips?” he held his grey paw out expectantly.</p>
<p>The wolf wanted this guy out of their hair – preferably now – so he ignored his urges to growl at the guy and took out his wallet once more. He flipped through the banknotes, wondering how much would make this guy piss off. Fifteen euros? Twenty? Twenty-five? Then when he passed his stack of fifties, he froze. There was something <em>else</em> between the orange notes, and he leaned close to inspect it. A chuckle bubbled up in his gut upon realizing what it was;</p>
<p>Monopoly money.</p>
<p>And a lot of it too. Six perfect orange papers were ebbed between his fifties, with ’500’ printed on each with black ink. How and when did these-</p>
<p>A risky idea hit him.</p>
<p>“…Yes, the service was very satisfactory, thank you. I hope this will pay for the mortgage and… maybe you could buy a hotel on the yellows,” he said while he handed five orange notes to the confused raccoon – making sure to only show the edges of the banknotes. From the outside, it looked like he was actually tipping the guy 250 euros worth of cash, and Vincent was ready to protest, but Jasper quickly took hold of his hand and led them outside the restaurant.</p>
<p>Once they were two establishments away from the Corso, Vincent finally managed to rip his limb away and stand his ground. Fury swam in his slitted gaze as he looked up at the wolf with the urge to <em>scream</em> on the tip of his tongue.</p>
<p>“<em>WHAT THE HELL JASPER?! </em>Why did you give that much money to a guy like that?!”</p>
<p>He expected the other’s tail and ears to drop. He expected the other to try to apologize, but couldn’t, because they shame overpowered <em>them</em>. He expected himself to march back to the restaurant and demand back at least half the tip. Then later, he expected to have a talk with Jasper about financial stability and <em>not handing out this much cash to douchebags like that waiter!</em></p>
<p>But no.</p>
<p>The wolf began giggling instead.</p>
<p>“…What?”</p>
<p>Amidst the laughter, the wolf took out his wallet once again, and dug into it. The next time his hand came to sight, it was filled with a bunch of fifties between his fingers, and it left Vincent slack-jawed. How in the hell were those banknotes still there, when he literally just watched Jasper hand them over?!</p>
<p>Then the wolf used his thumb to push the note at the back of the stack into view.</p>
<p>“No, you did not. You absolutely did <em>not</em> just do what I think you did,”</p>
<p>“Here,” Jasper forced out the word as he squeezed the piece of paper into Vincent’s hands. The fox was quick to scrutinize it; cheap orange ink, plastic-like paper, a little bitter in smell and <em>definitely what Jasper had given to the raccoon</em>.</p>
<p>In other words; the wolf paid the tip with fake money.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“I have no words to describe how…”</p>
<p>Worry filled Jasper’s gut. What if he went overbroad? What if he hadn’t done the hustle right?</p>
<p>“…much I love you.”</p>
<p>Vincent’s arms suddenly hooked around his neck and brought him down to the other’s height. Here, Jasper had a front seat when the vulpine erupted in hysterical laughter, his lover twitching within his arms as his lungs tried to supply the continuous stream of guffaws and wheezes that left the fox’s muzzle.</p>
<p>Many people compared a fox’s laugh to a hyena’s; brash, loud, high-pitched and uncomfortable. But for Jasper’s ears, it was the single most beautiful sound - like a flute playing in the dawn of morning. Soon, he himself joined with his deeper but louder version, and the passersby avoided the two canines with a wide berth. But Jasper didn’t care; he just felt so happy and <em>accomplished – </em>so much so that he caught the other’s hips and raised him, spinning both of them around in joy. They almost crashed into someone, but Jasper, once again, <em>didn’t care. </em>Nobody could stop them.</p>
<p>So it made perfect sense that some<em>thing</em> made him freeze. No, not an object, but a gesture.</p>
<p>Vincent’s vigorous lips on his.</p>
<hr/>
<p><strong>Debora and Oliver</strong> <strong>– First Floor – H&amp;M Clothing shop – Will you be my pair of leggings?</strong></p>
<p>“Is this good?”</p>
<p>“Looks a little posh, don’t you think?”</p>
<p>“That’s… the point.”</p>
<p>With her hands on her hips, Debora disagreed. “Gurl, we came here for something casual<em>. </em>Does <em>that</em> look casual to you?”</p>
<p>“It can be casual!”</p>
<p>“If you are the princess of Monaco, maybe. Now go back and try out the other pair.”</p>
<p>“She is right, Lucy. This won’t catch any guys’ eye, unless they are thieves,” one of Debora’s girlfriends backed the squirrel up, who crossed her arms with a smug grin.</p>
<p>The ferret in those ridiculously high heels that shone from fake golden gloss scoffed. “Why don’t we ask a <em>guy</em> then, huh? Oli, does this look cute?”</p>
<p>If there was one thing running in the Marais family, it was the fear of attention. No matter how much confidence flew in their veins, a Marais always got antsy and uncomfortable by unwanted looks. Oliver had tried to make himself as small as possible on his blue beanbag at the corner of the store, but none could escape eight females when they were judging outfits.</p>
<p>“W-well it’s- I mean, I wouldn’t call it casual, per se…”</p>
<p>“But it does catch your eye, right?”</p>
<p>The bat grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “Not for the reasons you might hope, hehe…”</p>
<p>The ferret growled and aggressively dragged back the curtains of the changing room. Like if it was pre-recorded, the girls simultaneously turned to each other and burst into loud chatters, and the clerk behind the cashier groaned into his own hands. He missed the usual quietness of the clothing store.</p>
<p>Oliver could emphasize.</p>
<p>“Nice opinion, stud,” Debora’s voice said as she appeared in the corner of his eye, flopping down on the beanbag next to him.</p>
<p>“Sorry. I’m really not good in this.”  </p>
<p>The squirrel rolled his eyes. “Life Lessons one-oh-one; you are fine as long as you agree with the bigger crowd.”</p>
<p>“That’s a horrible life lesson.”</p>
<p>“Tch, and those heels? They weren’t horrible? Not everything that is gold are good.”</p>
<p>“That’s a much better life lesson,” he said, and Debora’s only answer was a punch to his arm. She probably intended it to be a friendly tap, but the sting in his limb disagreed wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>“You are a very-” a pained grunt disrupted his sentence, “<em>A very strong woman.</em>”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure if it is a compliment, or an insult.”</p>
<p>Oliver wasn’t either. Did he like Debora’s raw strength? He was already the weaker one mentally – but just barely! - could his pride take being the weaker one physically too? When he looked over to her and saw the way Debora lazed on his stomach, watching him with an expectant eyebrow, a barrage of muscles showing on her elegant curves-</p>
<p>“Nah. I think it’s hot, actually,” he said, and Debora grinned. If they were alone, then that was probably the right thing to answer with.</p>
<p>But they weren’t.</p>
<p>“Ooh, look at that saucy couple over there!”</p>
<p>“Damn, that was smooth.”</p>
<p>“Debora is so lucky-”</p>
<p>“<em>Does</em> he have a brother?”</p>
<p>The last one quieted the rest. Suddenly, eight pairs of eyes were watching him eagerly, gauging his reaction and hoping for a positive answer. If Oliver were honest, he wanted to lie <em>so badly,</em> and tell them he was an only child with no male relatives – just who knew how desperate they could get? But he knew it was futile, as apparently this pack of Debora’s friends were like literal leeches; they smelled the blood on you no matter how hard you tried to deny you had any.</p>
<p>Why Debora even hung out with them was beyond him.</p>
<p>“Yes, he does,” the squirrel in question came to his rescue, ”His name is Montimer and he is <em>also</em> in a very happy relationship with another, so hands off Girls.”</p>
<p>Six of the eight groaned in disappointment, while the last two just smirked.</p>
<p>“The ones in a ’very happy relationship’ are the easiest to get. They don’t even realize that their source of happiness is bland until someone new, <em>someone fresh</em> comes along and shows them another way to taste joy.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Hell no.</em>
</p>
<p>Oliver felt the fur stand on his back; how dare these women speak about Larry and Montimer like that? And so openly?! He could never forget all the times when his little brother moped in his own bedroom when they were little, and then he would come out sulking and depressed, his head held down and his ears droopy. When the two of them finally reunited after that total fiasco with Larry’s stepfather, Oliver was beyond happy to see his brother smile so much. And that look in his eyes when Larry so much as stepped into his little bro’s field of vision…</p>
<p>He won’t be letting anyone with licentious intentions near them. And that’s a promise.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Debora was on his side.</p>
<p>“<em>Sweetheart</em>, trust me; you will never get that bat out of his commitment,” her words were still as laid back and sassy as ever, but Oliver recognized a sharp edge in a tone when he heard one.</p>
<p>Sadly, the girls were oblivious. “Oh. So he is the ’loyal’ kind too? I always liked a good challenge.”</p>
<p>And then the girls giggled in unison. How dare they-</p>
<p>“Trust me, this challenge will be anything but good. And while I agree that he is the loyal kind, it’s not <em>him</em> you have to worry about.”</p>
<p>Debora’s girlfriend, who became an orator of a kind to the eight, scoffed. “And what do I care about some crazy bitch? We are eight, she is one – I would like to see her <em>try</em>.”</p>
<p>While she was busy bragging and belittling Montimer’s ’girlfriend’, Debora took out her cell phone and sent a mischievous wink towards Oliver. He would be lying if he said he didn’t look towards to the incoming fireworks.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah? Well, let’s see if your bite is as big as your bark.”</p>
<p>She held up the ringing phone for all to see, and before any of the girls could utter a word, the line went through.</p>
<p>“<em>What do you want, Debora? The movie trailers are already ongoing, I can’t speak for long,</em>” hissed a male voice, much to the surprise of the group. Wasn’t the squirrel dialling this ’girlfriend’?</p>
<p>“It will be quick, don’t worry. Just a question.”</p>
<p>“<em>Just one. What’s up?</em>”</p>
<p>“Me and Oliver were having a small conversation about my strength, and it ended up with him admitting that he liked my strength.”</p>
<p>“<em>Did you seriously call me to say that? Oh my god... Good for him I guess, but you know how I-</em>”</p>
<p>“They then asked Oli if he had a brother and if that brother was single. Lars, you should have heard the way they asked it, hah! They weren’t even trying to hide it.”</p>
<p>Only static. Besides the loud voice of the movie trailer in the background, a whispered ’I’m sorry’ and the rustles of two soft materials sliding over each other, there was no answer to that. As the buzz of the empty line stretched, the girls started showing signs of unease; one of them fiddled with their fur, some of them scratched their beanbags, and the ferret in the changing room was biting her lip as she listened to the chaos outside.</p>
<p>Then suddenly, someone cleared their throat.</p>
<p>“<em>I’m here and I have something to say</em>,” even the ears of the clerk perked up, “<em>Girls, if I see any of you near Montimer or my kids, or even Mardequeo for that matter, I will follow you back to your house, and the next time you leave it, I will douse it with gas and literally burn everything down to the ground. Trust me, I will make sure not even the ash will be left from the things you love. I know seventeen ways to light something on fire, and five ways to blow something up; and if you think these are nothing more than empty threats, then all I have to say is – there was a reason why I wrote perfect biology tests from Pyrotechnics and thermodynamics. I have a movie to watch now. Bye.”</em></p>
<p>Then the line died with a crack.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“So? Anyone still wants Oliver’s <em>hot</em> brother?”</p>
<p>Like a bunch of cats aimed at with a garden hose, the girls abandoned that metaphorical garden in an instant, going back to idle chatter and critiquing the ferret’s shoes. It was almost comical how none dared to look over to Oliver and Debora, actively avoiding their satisfied looks.</p>
<p>“That was a good one, gotta admit,” the bat said, soft eyes glancing at his girlfriend.</p>
<p>“Hey, ’bros before hoes’ and what not.”</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t Larry be the ’hoe’ in this case?”</p>
<p>Debora spluttered with outrage, turning to him, and watching him like he was insane. “Calling these snakes anything but hoes is just asking for it. Larry is the bro here, <em>no question</em>.”</p>
<p>Oliver chuckled at the revolted answer, sneaking his arm to grasp hers. “True that. But still… thanks for defending Montimer. It means a lot to me.”</p>
<p>“You are welcome, brother boy,” Debora replied as she intertwined their fingers, “But one of you owe me now big time. The girls will totally take revenge on me eventually, so I expect some big payback.”</p>
<p>The bat’s pocket felt heavy all of a sudden. “You won’t be disappointed.”</p>
<p>“Amen to that,” she banged her fist on her chest, before both of their gazes slid to the ferret in the changing booth and her brand new shoes, “Damn. Those look much better, no? The color doesn’t stand out either.”</p>
<p>Oliver shrugged, clueless. “I guess it’s a little better. This reminds me, you are the only one who hasn’t been in there and I saw you choose some leggings. Won’t you try them out?”</p>
<p>“Wish a little louder, you pervert,” Debora gave him another friendly tap. Before Oliver could protest that <em>no</em>, he did not mean it like that, she raised some paper bags from the other side of her beanbag and held it up for him. “And these are <em>leggings</em>, dude. They are designed to literally stretch onto the person. So I’m not worried about their size.”</p>
<p>“Then… once Lucy decided on the shoes… we can go?” he asked with genuine hope.</p>
<p>Debora rolled her eyes. “Ask and ye shall receive.”</p>
<p>At first, Oliver didn’t understand what she meant. Then suddenly, she hopped onto her feet and he realized that the other girls were no longer in their beanbags; instead, they formed a queue in front of the cashier and were already paying for the outfits. Which meant that the bat had very little time to execute his plan. Making sure that Debora was still popping the kinks out of her back, his hand disappeared in his pant’s pocket, raised the item to light and flicked it into the squirrel’s bag. Just in time, because Debora was already turning on her heels.</p>
<p>“Come on, lover boy. We have made poor clerk suffer enough.”</p>
<p>And with that, Oliver grasped her outstretched hand and pulled himself up. Soon, they were at the very back of the queue and the bat felt all his nerves shake and tingle. He had everything prepared; the speech, the looks, the movements – but he expected to do it in a private corner of a bar, <em>not</em> in the middle of a Clothing Store.</p>
<p>Whatever. He just had to wing it.</p>
<p>While the line was getting shorter and shorter, Debora kept on sending him curious glances, which made it all the more nail-biting. He knew that she was smart enough to figure out what’s up – she probably already has! – but he couldn’t back out now. He had already done the deed.</p>
<p>He could do this.</p>
<p>“Greetings,” said the clerk’s light voice, and his hands were already taking away the bag from Debora. Oliver watched as the clerk grabbed the grey leggings from the bag and dropped them onto the table. Then he took the device that Oliver knew was used to remove the white disk from the cloth, and upon meeting, the disk detached itself from the leggings. The rustle of money from his right made his ears twitch, meaning that his girl was taking out the money at the moment.</p>
<p>Then the clerk grabbed the leggings’ side and frowned. “Curious. Is there another detector in there?”</p>
<p>At that moment, Oliver took a deep breath. It was showtime.</p>
<p>“Hey Debora, um… I want to ask something?”</p>
<p>The squirrel didn’t look up at him; she was too busy with counting the appropriate amount of money. “Can’t it wait after we paid?”</p>
<p>The bat glanced at the clerk, who in the meantime slid out the item from the leggings. Upon realizing what it was, he looked up at Oliver with dumb, wide eyes, and the yellow bat smiled.</p>
<p>“Actually, no it cannot.”</p>
<p>“Well, <em>boo hoo</em>, ’cause it will have to wait for now ’til-” at that very moment, her girlfriends’ excited squeal from the outside of H&amp;M interrupted her words. She wanted to turn around, wondering what got them so loud and riled up, when her boyfriend’s hand grabbed hers. Finally deciding to humor him, she glanced up…</p>
<p>…just to see Oliver on one knee and a ring in his hand.</p>
<p>“S-so I know that it is sudden and unprecedented, but Debora, I feel like we are serious enough to do this.”</p>
<p>Her hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock, the discarded wallet landing on ground with a thud.</p>
<p>“And… and… this is the part where I would gush about how beautiful you are and about the things I like about you, but you’d probably kick my ass for that, hehe…” he trailed off awkwardly, trying really hard to keep eye contact with her, “So I guess I will just say that… I decided that I don’t care that you are smarter than me or how much stronger you are. And don’t care how rough you are and… honestly, with the benefit of hindsight, maybe you should have proposed to me.”</p>
<p>A sob bubbled up in her gut and she laughed, “I w-was wondering about the same thing.”</p>
<p>“Yeah... But since I know you like straightforwardness, I won’t beat around the bush – will you marry me?”</p>
<p>“Honestly… I’m just floored you had the balls to actually do this. You put up a mean macho front, but you cannot be more transparent.”</p>
<p>Oliver’s awkward grin froze onto his face. “I’m not sure if it is a compliment or an insult.”</p>
<p>Debora’s hand grasped his, and his body flew up to a standstill, flushed against the squirrel’s.</p>
<p>“Nah. I think it’s hot, actually. Hot enough that my answer is a resounding ’yes’.”</p>
<p>Amidst the crazed cheers and screams of her girlfriends’ and the clerk’s claps, their lips met in a kiss that embodied everything Debora was; rough, strong, agile, but tender and soft once you got her rhythm.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Maurice and Jack – Second Floor – Bolaton Plaza’s Sauna – Warm in the Dark</strong>
</p>
<p>The moment the door opened, fresh steam shot right in Maurice’s face.</p>
<p>“Woah…” he said, marveling at the clean white room inside. His face burned from the sheer warmth flowing out of the sauna, and the fur on his head became stuffier, drenched by the first beads of sweat - but he didn’t care. It felt nice.</p>
<p>“’Rice, don’t forget to shed your clothes before stepping in,” Jack’s voice said behind him. The green bat quickly pulled back and snapped the door close, smiling at his half-naked husband apologetically. At least, until it <em>actually</em> registered in Maurice’s brain that yes, the most attractive person on earth was half naked in front of him, and he let his eyes roam freely No one was there to be uncomfortable about it.</p>
<p>“You like what you see?” Jack may not have been the most muscular bat on earth – most his days were spent with reading books, studying and cuddling with Maurice – but he got by.</p>
<p>He only had to live up to one person’s judgement, in the end.</p>
<p>“V-very much so,” Maurice’s tone was half an octave higher than intended. It rose to a full octave though, when Jack let the towel fall from his waist, showcasing that he had nothing but swim trunks on. While he did feel a pang of disappointment that Jack didn’t want to go full naked – they had plenty of privacy, but <em>just in case </em>– still; his mouth couldn’t help but salivate.</p>
<p>Jack walked up to him and manually closed his mouth. “Are the light’s on upstairs, darling?”</p>
<p>The other shook his head quickly and licked the spit from his chomps. His fingers did quick work on his shirt and pants, and soon, his bare fur was showered in the chill of the changing space. Besides the swimming trunks, he kept his yellow bandana around his neck – it symbolized his bond with Jack as much as the onyx ring on his finger. With the clothes shed and his towel hanging idly from shoulder, he turned to Jack eagerly.</p>
<p>His husband whistled. “Damn, I’m lucky.”</p>
<p>Maurice puffed his chest out at the compliment and let Jack near him. The yellow bat was never a man of words, ironic as it may be, and he enjoyed showing his emotions through actions. The others’ fingers touched his stomach first, feeling up the soft fur there and the hidden muscles underneath. What both liked about each other was the lack of visible muscle mass; they were both average and thus equal. Yet they all had their own beauty with a sleek figure, and while Jack was a tad taller and lankier, Maurice was shorter and more filled out. And even then, the differences were only visible if you scrutinized them from close.</p>
<p>And that’s what they loved the most.</p>
<p>Jack’s hand trailed up Maurice’s chest, and the green bat let out a growl deep in his throat. It was an appreciative growl, one that continued on resonating as the other’s hand slid to his side and slithered around his waist. Soon, Maurice his husband’s confident arms enveloped him, and he licked the other’s chin. A subtle, tiny, but meaningful gesture that made the other smile.</p>
<p>“Let’s we continue this inside, hm?” Jack’s finger sneaked up to Maurice’s muzzle, scratching the spot where the green bat’s grin began.</p>
<p>“Yeah, let’s.”</p>
<p>Hand-in-hand, the two opened the door and entered the wall of steam.</p>
<p>The Sauna wasn’t huge, but it was big enough; the exact size of a train car. The long room’s walls were of pure white, blending together until one had a hard time deciding where a wall ended and another started. Amidst this space of nothingness, was a wooden bench that stood out with its dark beige shade and run the course of the wall. A row of circular bulbs provided the lighting, built into the ceiling – though only their shine was visible through the wall of the steam. This was the most noticeable part; the thick atmosphere, that made breathing harder - but not enough to suffocate you - and the weighty warmth on the skin massaged you in each moment, ’till your limbs felt like they wanted to float by themselves.</p>
<p>Jack slid onto the bench, with Maurice’s body safely clutched to his side. As the heat slowly pervaded their nostrils and their muscles relaxed, they let themselves fall back and their legs to spread, knees bumping into each other in the process; this additional contact made even Jack giggle. Once comfortable, Maurice let his head drop on Jack’s open shoulder and <em>exhaled</em>.</p>
<p>“This feeeels… nice,” the green bat murmured into the steamy air. Jack’s fingers were drawing circles into his side, making sure not to dig too deep into the other, and his insignificant tail wagged with joy. Everywhere their bodies touched, Jack’s fur was already sweaty and sticky – but he loved it. They both craved to be united with each other in every possible way, no matter if it were by touch, legal papers or sweat.</p>
<p>Then Jack’s nose twitched with a sniff.</p>
<p>“Darling, why do you smell like… pudding?” he certainly hadn’t smelled like this when they arrived in the Plaza, and they had only stopped for a quick refresher on the way. So then where did the pudding smell come from?</p>
<p>Maurice frowned, bending down to sniff his own shoulder. Once the smell registered to him as well, he chuckled goodheartedly in Jack’s arm.</p>
<p>“Oh, I know what this is! Apparently Ronnie and Richie got pudding next to their breakfasts, but there was some kind of scuffle or I don’t know, and they ended up pouring it over each other.”</p>
<p>Jack took another sniff. Sure enough, the distinct smell of Richie oozed from his husband’s shoulder, recognizable between the sweetness of the chocolate pudding.</p>
<p>“Huh. Guess they rubbed off on you when you held them up.”</p>
<p>“They wiggled like caterpillars!”</p>
<p>Jack smiled, his eyes noticing the way his husband’s fur got gradually darker from sweat - it went from the most beautiful shade of Jade and transformed into a sallow version of grey. His own fur wasn’t faring any better either; from a lighter glitter of yellow, it went to something akin to orange, with a hint of citrus.</p>
<p>“I guess they did… by the way, I meant to ask, how-” he couldn’t finish his sentence as suddenly, the lights went off. And if that wasn’t enough, to silent whizz of the generator that calibrated the heat inside room, just shut down as well.</p>
<p>There was silence. And a void of darkness all around.</p>
<p>“Well. That’s inconvenient.”</p>
<p>Most animals would have been worried of not seeing anything. Herbivores and some Omnivores, for example, possessed no ability to help them in the dark. If they did, however, possess such ability – it was usually night-vision. As the moon beamed down on the ground, an animal with this perk could look around the lonely forest and safely escape without smashing their faces into a tree or a bush.</p>
<p>But when there was no light source – like in the sauna, for instance – night-vision was useless.</p>
<p>Good thing bats were an entire other breed.</p>
<p>Jack sighed when he felt his ears automatically snap upright and become erect. “Guess I’ll have to ask the clerk what happened,” he was forced to raise his voice, something he despised but had no other choice.</p>
<p>Echolocation was a fickle thing.</p>
<p>While he spoke, he closed his eyes on instinct, and let the echos of his words bounce back from the walls, the bench, Maurice, until it finally crashed back into him. When his ears caught these sound waves, the room manifested in his mind completely differently than with vision; his surroundings revealed themselves with thin black outlines, popping up for a moment before fading away like a dune in the wind. The room’s dark cubic shape around him stayed for the longest – and wasn’t that a stark contrast from the pure white he had come to love? – before even that dissipated into silence.</p>
<p>“But by the looks of it, I’d wager it was a blackout!” he shouted, and using the fact that the room was once again displayed in his ’second vision’, he located the blurred rectangle that the exit was. Once found, he began making his way towards the door of the Sauna-</p>
<p>Right until he felt a wet hand holding him back.</p>
<p>“What if… we stayed, Jackie? I kind of like this.”</p>
<p>Through the echoes, he could see Maurice’s hazy outlines reaching out to him. The other’s plate-like ears were erect too, and the expressionless group of dashes that made up his head was looking up at Jack. Yet the yellow bat didn’t need sight to know the puppy-eyes he was being projected to, and he resigned.</p>
<p>“Really? It’s not exactly romantic to see you as a bundle of badly drawn lines, hon.”</p>
<p>A coy giggle reached his sensitive ears, and something akin to a smile faded off from Maurice’s shape.</p>
<p>“I know. But it sounds kinda exciting, no? And new too! Haven’t you ever thought about having a date with nothing but echoloc and touch?”</p>
<p>Now that the other was saying it, the concept really didn’t sound <em>that</em> bad, actually. It resonated well with the artist in Jack, hearing such an abstract yet promising idea for an outing, and the first seeds of inspiration began taking hold in his mind.</p>
<p>“…Alright. but it will get chilly soon. You have any plans for that?” he said, moving back to the flat, brick like form that protruded from the walls.</p>
<p>He flopped back on it, the familiar solidness of the bench under his buttocks comforting him. Right as he did that, adventurous fingers started fumbling over his body, and Jack grinned at the clumsiness of his husband. Deciding to help the other out, he generated quiet rumbles at the back of his throat that triggered Maurice’s echolocation and helped him locate the treasure he sought. Soon, he felt a pair of arms circle around his waist, and the body of another flushed against his own. The warmth of Maurice replaced the chill of the cooling air on his wings, and Jack literally <em>melted </em>into it. This close, he could hear how the other breathed, how his lungs expanded with air and how his powerful heart beat Jack’s favorite song.</p>
<p>Maurice also rumbled in his ear, and if the yellow bat were honest; this was more than just nice. His husband was the single most beautiful gem in his eyes, who shone with the light of Jade day-by-day and illuminated his corrupted, Purple life. But now... every single part of Maurice was dancing like a black serpent, fading in and out, only showing itself when a whisper cut through the quiet aura. It was exciting, because in the dark, he could see neither the Jade nor the Purple, but somehow, the bat knew they were clashing under the veil of the void. It gave an entirely new meaning to their conflict, and Jack was <em>buzzing</em> from the experience.</p>
<p>He angled his head down at their intertwined fingers; and the ring was there too, a little stub on the shape of Maurice’s hand.</p>
<p>His fingers stroked the gem on top, and he let the memories of their wedding resurface;</p>
<p>How he stood at the altar, clad in a green suit, his mom and dad watching him with the utmost pride in their eyes. They cheered him on every time he so much as glanced at them, which occurred quite frequently as they sat at the very front row. Then Maurice appeared at the other end of the aisle, with a yellow suit and his own dad next to him, and Jack, well…</p>
<p>He fell in love again.</p>
<p>“Jackie… I really liked playing with Ronnie and Richie…” by the hesitant tone of his darling, the yellow bat guessed there was a subtext to this.</p>
<p>“I am glad to hear it. Maybe we can ask Lars if they need a babysitter anytime soon.”</p>
<p>“That would be so good! But…” and when he felt a soft touch on his fur, mindlessly playing with a strand – that was his husband’s nervous tick – Jack was confident something big was coming.</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“Well… I thought maybe we can have our own pups too, a little batling… or who knows, maybe some other species. I really wouldn’t care.”</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>“Are you sure about this Maurice? Do you think you are ready for kits?” he genuinely wanted to know. So much so that he didn’t hesitate grumbling deep in his throat once again, just so he could find Maurice’s head grab both sides of it.</p>
<p>There was a mischievous giggle. “Why just me? Are you saying you <em>are</em> ready?”</p>
<p>“Well, I wouldn’t call myself the c<em>rème de la crème, but I did have a sister and two very busy parents who went away in intervals, so…</em>”</p>
<p>“<em>Riiight, </em>why do I feel like you are forgetting that for the last <em>four </em>years, I’ve been helping out?”</p>
<p>Jack never wanted to stuff his own fist down his throat more than then. “<em>Oh</em>.”</p>
<p>“’Oh’ is right, you forgetful devil,” he felt arms sneaking around his neck and warm breath on his nose, “So? Just imagine – we are over at Montimer’s and we hear the word ’dad’ being shouted from another room, to which four of us move to answer instead of two. Wanna make this happen?”</p>
<p>Jack knew that this should have been a tough decision. He knew he should have felt the need to think both options through, while his heart beat in his throat and it was hard to breathe. But no; It was <em>very</em> easy to breathe. And since he wasn’t a man of words, he let his actions answer instead.</p>
<p>He just hoped that their kiss wouldn’t get too heated – they were in public, after all.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Larry and Montimer – Top Floor – Cinema – The Broken Windshield Never Yields</strong>
</p>
<p>The movie was over.</p>
<p>“So kids… what did we learn from the story?” Larry asked as he gathered their empty popcorn boxes and drink holders in his arms. Montimer side-eyed his mouse while that occurred, wondering if he should offer some help or not – but then Larry would probably get more stubborn and righteous if he did that, so he kept silent.</p>
<p>Ronnie perked up in her seat. “That the good is not always good?”</p>
<p>“No!” Richie disagreed next to her, crossing his tiny arms, “It was about the bad guys not being evil!”</p>
<p>Montimer saw how she glanced at her little brother – the look of someone who you would rather strangle to death - so he decided to intervene.</p>
<p>“Actually… both of you are correct. The movie showed us that nothing is absolute; that nobody is completely evil and they have their own lighter side, while not all the good guys are just good,” as he said this, Larry was in the middle of bending down to grab the bat’s own empty boxes, but stopped midway to land a moment-long smooch on Montimer’s cheek. The bat didn’t waste time to reciprocate it, though his wanton touch lingered.</p>
<p>He could never get over what this mouse was doing to him.</p>
<p>“But Larry’s father was really evil! He tried to hurt him and you, Dad,” Ronnie complained and both her parents froze. The topic was more than just sensitive, but they couldn’t fault them – the kids were just curious. Sharing a glance that communicated a thousand words, they turned to Ronnie and Richie in synchrony.</p>
<p>“Larry’s <em>step</em>father was an interesting case, because he was more evil than good.”</p>
<p>“Imagine a line, alright?” Larry continued his bat’s monologue, to which Montimer raised his forearm to position it horizontally in front of his chest for the kids to see, “On one end, we have evil,” the mouse used his unoccupied, free hand to point at the bat’s elbow, then at the bat’s fist, “And on the other, we have the good. Every person falls somewhere between these two points, but never <em>right onto</em> them. As Montimer said, and the movie showed; nobody is completely evil, and nobody is a saint. Got it?”</p>
<p>Understanding shone like a jewel in the kids’ eyes as they nodded frantically.</p>
<p>“And we are on this line too?”</p>
<p>“Yes, and we’ll tell you while leaving – I heard there was a good gyros vendor behind the Plaza and I don’t know about you, but I’m still hungry <em>as hell</em>. Popcorn really doesn’t make a good appetizer, eh?” the kids cheered at the sound of fast food. Grasping both of Montimer’s hands, they dragged the adult out of the thin space between the rows of cushion seats and followed Larry to the exit. On the way out, the mouse dumped the boxes into a large trash can, his face bearing a satisfied smile when the popcorn and soda boxes were finally out of his hand.</p>
<p>“So yeah, everyone is on this line, even us,” he continued as he fell in line with the rest. Ronnie let go of his Montimer’s hand, just to let Larry get between them until the nuclear family of four were reunited once more on their way out of the Plaza.</p>
<p>“I bet Dad and Papa are like, <em>really close </em>to the end of good!” Richie bellowed proudly, and for once, Ronnie agreed with him - enthusiastically so. The family entered the open elevator of the Plaza one by one, Montimer pressing the button for the ground level once Larry ushered the kids inside. The machine’s doors closed with a loud <em>ding,</em> and a slight shake of the cabin signaled its steady descent.</p>
<p>“Well, my bravery still could use some work,” Larry said, uttering the admission with a hint of nostalgia, “I may have come a long way since my cowardly past, but I still got a lot of work to do.”</p>
<p>Montimer pursed his lips. “Is this… you admitting that the scream this morning was you? And the broken ironing board as well?”</p>
<p>His mouse smiled awkwardly at the three pairs of eyes that looked up at him.</p>
<p>“I’m… still learning how to iron clothes, sorry.”</p>
<p>Montimer snorted in good humor, sending the other a teasing grin – and stealing quick kiss before Larry could bat him away. While the adults played their weird little game, Richie and Ronnie were both busy processing this newfound information, trying to overwork their minds to fit together the mindboggling puzzle.</p>
<p>“But being scared is not an evil thing to do,” Ronnie mumbled under her breath.</p>
<p>Montimer was about to draw Larry close - presumably to steal even more kisses - but the statement made them both freeze. Ah yes; <em>this</em> was definitely more the bat’s forte, and his sweetheart was already opening his mouth with an answer ready on the tip of his tongue.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to do bad things to be evil. Doing nothing when you could do something good is just as bad. If not worse. Larry means that his cowardice could become a problem when things turn serious, but he is working on it.”</p>
<p>“So that means that you are gooder than Papa? Because I know you are really brave Dad!”</p>
<p>Montimer smiled right as the elevator’s doors slid open. Bending down, he grabbed the underside of Richie’s arms and raised the little one to his chest.</p>
<p>“Let’s just say we both have our faults in our stars. I’m not without problems either, as much as you want to think so,” he said and cradled his son close. From the corner of his vision, he noticed Larry watching him with a proud grin on his muzzle, and then their eyes met;</p>
<p>He may not be perfect, but… to the one person who mattered, he was at least something close.</p>
<p>From the elevator, the family’s path went straight through the curving labyrinth that was the Ground Floor. The digital clocks read 4pm – meaning, that it was the time for the Plaza to experience bustling crowds of people on all floors, and for the shop owners to watch their business’ bank accounts go sky high. On the way, they bumped into Jasper and Vincent; the fox was asking the other some rapid-fire questions, which the wolf was more than happy to answer, and if not for Jasper’s attentive ears, they would have never even noticed the passing family of bats and mice.</p>
<p>“Wonder what got them so excited,” Larry mumbled as a pair of wagging tails disappear behind a corner.</p>
<p>Shrugging, they covered the rest of the distance until the back-exit of the plaza. A lynx in a white blouse and skirt was handing out pamphlets to the entering and leaving customers, an honest smile adoring face.</p>
<p>“The swellest afternoon to the young family! Are you in need of assistance or were you just leaving?” she had a slight British to her syllables, which prompted a giggle out of Ronnie.</p>
<p>“You speak funny,” she said, pointing up at the feline. The attendant smiled a friendly smile and crouched down to her level.</p>
<p>“I am quite happy you find joy in my accent, little girl. Can I just take this moment to say that I absolutely adore your dress? The sparkles <em>really</em> bring out your pretty eyes.”</p>
<p>Ronnie grabbed her white outfit and looked down, blushing.</p>
<p>“T-thank you, Miss. My Papa gave it to me.”</p>
<p>The lynx looked up at the parents and found Larry’s eyes. “Well, your Papa has a wonderful taste,” she said, nodding in approval.</p>
<p>“He does!”</p>
<p>’Papa’ just scratched the back of his neck, his face feeling hot even in the air-conditioned inside of the Plaza. “We had just watched a movie and thought about having a family meal, then going home.”</p>
<p>“Mhm, I’m guessing it is rare that all four of you are okay to have a family outing such as this?”</p>
<p>“We just started our uni studies, so yeah… we are using every opportunity we can.”</p>
<p>At the sound of this, genuine surprised spread through her face. “Oh my- <em>University</em>? That means you guys are barely adults too! You know it’s not gonna be easy, right?”</p>
<p>Montimer and Larry looked at each other. Both began searching for something in the other’s expression, something that only appeared a year ago and had always been there ever since. The <em>special</em> something, that soothed them every time they worried for absolutely nothing and made them feel significant and beloved. Sure enough, it was there; a slight distortion of the face muscles that looked both tense and soft, accompanied by a small, shining glint in the middle of their pupils, reserved for each other, and <em>only</em> each other. Larry’s gaze trailed down to Montimer’s right hand – the one that wasn’t cradling Richie to his chest – and grabbed it quickly. A chuckle escaped the bat’s muzzle at the greediness of his mouse and gripped their now intertwined hands close together.</p>
<p>“We know… but we will still go with it, no matter what.”</p>
<p>The lynx looked like she wanted to combust from awe.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Richie tugged on the collar of Montimer’s shirt. The adult looked down at his son, an inquiry already on his tongue, when he himself saw it.</p>
<p>“What the…?”</p>
<p>Through the transparent double doors of the Plaza, he could see an avenue. On this road, were a large Sedan inching back slowly, presumably trying to angle itself back to the next turn. The driver probably didn’t notice the cyclist behind him, a burly wolf who, after seeing the enormous car bumping into his front wheel and not stopping, began panicking.</p>
<p> “<em>Woah woah, DUDE! What are you DOING?!</em>”</p>
<p>Ronnie, Larry and the lynx all turned just in time to see the cyclist raise his hand and punch the rear window of the car. Sadly, the glass there must have been cracked already, because the window immediately shattered into many little pieces and dropped into the concrete below.</p>
<p>Then the door of the car opened.</p>
<p>“Oh boy,” Montimer quickly handed over the little batling to the stupefied Larry, “Call Jasper immediately,” he said, and left the Plaza through the automatic double-doors with a hasty flap of his wings, the sultry air clashing with the cool of the inside.</p>
<p>An entire bear stepped out of the car, twice as big as the wolf and not looking all too happy.</p>
<p>“What in the name of Christ did you do to my car?!”</p>
<p>The wolf was definitely intimidated, and maybe a little ashamed, but he didn’t backtrack. “You almost ran me over!”</p>
<p>“<em>YOU</em> <em>IMBECILE!</em>” the bears words were deep and growling, a bit of foam peeking out from the corner of his mouth, “I will show you what running over means!”</p>
<p>The big guy circled around the car and was almost in the wolf’s face, when Montimer jumped in between the two.</p>
<p>“There is no need for that, we-”</p>
<p>“That damned mutt broke my rear window!”</p>
<p>“<em>Because you almost killed me!”</em></p>
<p>In the meantime, Larry had just cut the call, notifying Jasper about the ongoing events. His gaze was intense and unmoving from the scene - <em>far </em>from being a fan of what he was currently witnessing, especially the fact that Montimer was facing a bear four times his size, or that the bat oh-so willingly turned his back on the wolf who obviously didn’t mind using their fist to get what they wanted.</p>
<p>He looked down at the whimpering bundle of fur in his arms and Ronnie, who had been hiding behind his flank ever since the shatter. It scared them; that much Larry could understand, even emphasize with. The urge to run away from the suspenseful situation was there, creeping in his mind and speeding up his heart - but he couldn’t. ’Cause that was Montimer throwing himself in a dangerous situation, and Jasper still had half the Plaza to run through.</p>
<p>And if he won’t help, then who else will?</p>
<p>“Ma’am, could you keep a look after Ronnie and Richie?” he said, handing over the little bat to the shocked attendant, “There will be a fox named Vincent coming, he will take the kids. Thank you so much!”</p>
<p>Without listening to her stuttered answer, he took a deep breath and ran into battle.</p>
<p>“We can handle this situation without anyone getting hurt,” Montimer tried to reason, still keeping the bear away from the cyclist, “Just exchange contact info and discuss a compensation or something!”</p>
<p>“<em>Hell no! </em>This kid had the gall to accuse me of things I didn’t do! No apology, <em>nothing! </em>I will beat respect into him,” the bear began pushing forward, but the bat stood his ground. Fed up with the obstacle, the big guy bared his foaming teeth, raising an arm to swat away the annoying bug when he felt something crawl up his back. Before he could shake off the parasite, he felt a pair of fingers take hold of his neck, and each part of his monstrous body tensed up at once.</p>
<p>“You know which part of the neck I’m holding?” a voice whispered in his ear, “The part that needs <em>just</em> a pinch and you will be sentenced to a little nap time. Back off from the bat and the wolf, or <em>else</em>.”</p>
<p>It was a comical sight how a large mountain of a man backtracked on a pair of stiff legs.</p>
<p>They got quite an audience, as both the passersby and the customers of the bar at the other side of the avenue were watching. The lynx held the little bat in her arms, trying with all her non-existential parental instincts to calm both him and the mouse girl behind her. This was… an odd turn on the job, but still better than being blatantly ignored thirty times a minute.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand,” the bigger of the two kids whispered, catching the lynx’s attention, “I thought Papa said he was scared…”</p>
<p>She… did not remember the guy ever saying anything like this, but it must have been an inside comment.</p>
<p>“He sure manned up now.”</p>
<p>“Do you think our daddies are good?” the little boy croaked, looking up at her with big, teary eyes. Some wolf sprinted to the scene at that moment, shouting police stuff at the bear and the wolf, and the lynx nodded.</p>
<p>“Yes, love. You two probably have one of the best parents I have ever seen.”</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Be notified of incoming stories and chapters weeks before they happen!</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/andrew_bakos</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This took way too long, I'm sorry. I just struggled with the detailing, and I had 7, yes, 7 exams.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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